Machine for wrapping celery.



Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

2 EHEETB-BHBET l.

[N VEN TOR. MA L c 0M W 51R;

A TTORNE Y.

M. W. EARL.

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING OBLERY.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 18, 1911.

COLUMBIA ['LANOGHAPI o AsmNnT N I) M. W. EARL.

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING CELERY.

APPLICATION FILED D110. 18, 1911.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m/ VEN TOR. MAL cam W. 541?;

I B 4/P/)47 )e%m A TTORNE y.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAI'H co wAsnmn'roN, D C.

UNITED STATEQTENT OFFIQE.

MALCOLM W. EARL, OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO PERSIS J. EARL, ONE-FOURTH T0 SHERIDAN E. EARL, AND ONE-FOURTH TO ERNEST J. EARL, ALL OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING CELERY.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MALCOLM WV. EARL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vatertown, in the county of Jefferson and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Wrapping Celery, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for wrapping celery, and has for its object to provide a novel, simple and convenient portable device of the class which is capable of being driven or hauled along or astraddle of a row of growing celery, the said machine arranged to carry rolls of paper and to apply the said paper in continnous strips to the opposite sides of the rows of celery, for excluding the light and air from the plants, for effecting the bleaching of the stalks or stems of the celery between the ground and the tops of the plants. And a further object is to provide means for adjusting the device to different widths, and also for adapting the machine for treating celery plants of different height.

The various features and parts of the invention will be understood from the detailed description as follows, and by reference to the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete machine; showing generally the construction and arrangement thereof. Fi 2 is a top plan perspective view of the ma chine; showing the strips of paper partially unwound. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the complete machine in action. Fig. 4t is a front end View of the machine. Fig. 5 is a rear end view of the machine. Fig. 6 is a cross-section on line 6-6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a view of a shuttle or needle employed for sewing the strips of paper to the celery.

Referring to the drawings, the frame of my machine comprises like opposite side rails 2, front, middle and rear upright posts 3, 4 and 5, and top cross rails or bars 6, 7 and 8. The posts 3 are secured to the side rails 2, and the cross-bar 6, by bolts 3 and 6. The middle posts l: are secured to the side rails 2 and the bar 7, by means of an- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 18, 1911.

Patented Sept. 2,1913.

Serial No. 666,487.

gular braces or brackets f and bolts 7', while the rear posts 5 are secured to the side rails 2 and bar 8, by means of braces 5' and bolts 8. The front and middle upright frame parts are tied together longitudinally, by means of like braces 9, which may be secured to the tops of the posts 3 and 4; in any suitable manner. The whole frame is preferably mounted upon front and rear wheels 10 and 11 for rendering the machine portable. The wheels 10 and 11. may be applied in any suitable manner.

After celery has attained its full growth, it is usually covered up or inclosed for the greater part of its height, for the purpose of bleaching or whitening the stalks for rendering them crisp and tender. In order to effect the bleaching in a proper or desirable manner, the celery must be wrapped or covered up, for a period of two or three weeks, with a material which will not only exclude the air and light, but also effect the bleaching without causing rust or decay or other blemishes to appear on the stalks. In the past, celery growers used to plant the celery in shallow trenches, and then fill in the earth for covering up or almost entirely burying the stalks for bleaching the same. Under this method the celery often showed incipient decay, or rust, which rendered it unfit for the market. Other growers applied boards of different kinds of wood to the opposite sides of the rows of celery for shielding the plants from the light and air for bleaching them. Under this method also the celery frequently becomes rusted or starts to rot before the bleaching is effected, and besides the expense of furnishing and handling the lumber is considerable. Under my improved method of growing celery, I plant the celery in rows on level or flat ground, and after the celery has attained its full growth I wrap the rows with a heavy paper, such as good quality of building paper, which I find is much cheaper than lumber, and lighter and less expensive to apply, and in addition the bleaching of the stalks of the celery is effected without an rust or rotting. To this end, it is an Qb ect of the present invention to provide means for readily applying continuous strips of the paper, as 12, to the rows of the grown celery, intermediate the ground and the tops of the plants. The paper 12 is preferably supplied in continuous strips from rolls 13 and 14, the said rolls being pivotally mounted near the front end of the machine, between the side rails 2 and the top braces 9. Any suitable means may be employed for supporting the rolls of paper so long as the rolls are allowed to rotate freely for unwinding the paper.

While the celery is growing to its full height, the stalks branch or spread apart, so that the tops which bear the leaves invariably over-hang the bodies or stems of the plants. In order to apply the paper 12 to the sides of the spreading rows of celery in an even and suitable manner for effecting the subsequent bleaching of the stalks, it is necessary to gather or compress the spread ing tops, and to hold them in a narrow and somewhat compact body while the paper is being applied and secured in place. To gather the tops of the celery stalks, as described, I provide a pair of like adjustable floating guards or wings 15 and 16, each of said guards being supported by means of vertically arranged blocks or hangers 17 said guards being secured to said hangers by means of strap hinges 18, which permit the top edges of the guards to swing or move laterally toward or away from each other. The blocks 17 are adjustably secured to the posts 4 and 5, by means of bolts or pins 19, which pierce the said posts and also the said blocks. A number of perforations 20 are arranged in vertical rows in the posts 4 and 5, for permitting the adjusting of the blocks 17 to different positions vertically. The front ends of guards 15 and 16 are preferably bent or flared laterally or outwardly, so as to form a V-shaped space or opening 21, between the guards, for receiving and gathering the spreading celery plants, which are afterward compressed between the more closely spaced top edges or portions of the guards. Thus when the machine is drawn along and astride a row of celery, the flaring front ends of the guards 15 and 16, tend to gather and crowd the spreading tops of the celery together thereby forming a narrow and compact body, which is held in such position while strips of paper 12 are reeled off the rolls 13 and 14 and applied to the opposite sides of the row, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. WVhen the machine is first placed astride a row of celery, the ends of the oppositely arranged strips of paper are drawn through the machine and then brought together and secured to each other at the end of the row. The machine is then driven or pulled along the row, and at the same time the strips of paper are reeled off, and are directed and held against the opposite sides of the celery by the guards 15 and 16. In practice one operator follows the machine and secures the paper to the celery stalks, by

passing a shuttle or needle 30, (see Fig. 7)

top edges of the guards close together, while the lower edges are spaced a greater distance apart, as best seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. To provide the proper tension, the guards 15 and 16 are fitted with upwardly projecting arms 22 and 23, which are disposed respectively near the front and rear ends of the guards, and to each pair of said arms is applied a coil spring 24 which tend to draw .the guards together. The springs 24 are intended to be strong enough to hold the upper. edges of the guards firmly but yieldlngly against the tops of the celery stalks.

As some rows of celery are of ranker growth than others, it is necessary to provide the springs 24 with sufficient elasticity, to allow the requisite amount of flexing or yielding of the guards 15 and 16, without breaking or injuring the plants. The guards 15 and 16 are each preferably composed of longitudinal boards or parts 24 and 25, which are held together as a single part by cross pieces or cleats 26. of the boards 24 and 25 are intended to be equal to the tallest plants to which the paper 12 may be applied. In case the celery stalks The combined widths are short, the top boards 24 of the guards may be removed, and paper of less width supplied from suitable rolls to meet the changed condition.

It is obvious that some changes or modifications may be made in the parts of the device, within the scope defined by the ap pended claim, without departing from the invention,'and I therefore do not restrict myself to the precise, construction arrangement and operation herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is V A machine for wrapping celery, compris ing front and rear frame sections eachmounted on wheels and adapted to straddle a row of the plants, rolls containing continuous strips of paper carried bythe front frame section adapted to be unwound and applied to the opposite sides of the row of plants by the forward movement of the machine, a pair of floating guards supported at their opposite ends by the front and rear frame sections, said guards spaced apart In testimony whereof I affix my signature for straddling the row adapted to gather in presence of two witnesses.

and compress the plants while the strips of MAI COLM WV FARL paper are being applied to the opposite sides J J of the row, and means for independently WVitnesses:

raising and lowering the opposite ends of H. B. SMITH,

said guards, substantially as described. FLORENCE B. BURESS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

